Influence of KDR Genetic Variation on the Efficacy and Safety of Patients with Chemotherapy Refractory Metastatic CRC Who Received Apatinib Treatment

• Main Authors: Bai M, Li ZG, Ba Y
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-03-01
• Series: International Journal of General Medicine
• Subjects: colorectal cancer; apatinib; kinase insert domain containing receptor; genetic variation; biomarker; clinical outcome; safety
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/influence-of-kdr-genetic-variation-on-the-efficacy-and-safety-of-patie-peer-reviewed-article-IJGM

Ming Bai,1,* Zhi-Guo Li,2,* Yi Ba1 1Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Minimally Invasive Digestive Surgery, Shanxi Cancer Hospital, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yi BaDepartment of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, 1 Middle Huanhu Road, Tianjin, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Email [e-mail]: The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of kinase insert domain containing receptor (KDR) genetic variation on the efficacy of treatment and safety of patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) receiving apatinib.Methods: A total of 108 patients with chemotherapy refractory metastatic CRC who were treated with apatinib participated in this study retrospectively. Efficacy of the patients’ treatment was evaluated. Prognosis was carried out and safety profile was documented, respectively. Blood specimens and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of the patients were obtained for the analysis of genetic variation and KDR gene mRNA expression, respectively. The association between genotype status and clinical outcomes was presented.Results: Objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) of the 108 patients with metastatic CRC receiving apatinib treatment were 5.6% and 69.4%, respectively. Survival analysis results exhibited that the median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the 108 patients with metastatic CRC was 3.6 months (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.03– 4.17 months) and 8.9 months (95% CI: 7.57– 10.23 months), respectively. Subsequently, the analysis of KDR genetic variation indicated that rs2071559 was of clinical significance. The minor allele frequency of rs2071559 was 0.22 and the genotype status corresponded with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P=0.949). Prognosis analysis in a dominant inheritance manner through the combination of patients with TC and CC genotype showed that the median PFS of patients with TT genotype and TC/CC genotype was 4.1 and 3.0 months, respectively (P=0.012). Furthermore, the median OS of patients with the two genotypes was 10.5 and 6.1 months, respectively (P=0.007). Additionally, multivariate Cox regression analysis of OS showed that TC/CC genotype was an independent factor for OS (Hazard ratio (HR)=0.65, P=0.021). Interestingly, mRNA expression analysis suggested that the mRNA expression of KDR in PBMC differed significantly according to rs2071559 genotype status (P< 0.001).Conclusion: Apatinib demonstrated a potentially superior clinical outcome for patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic CRC. KDR polymorphism rs2071559 could be used as a potential biomarker for the prognosis evaluation of patients with CRC receiving apatinib therapy.Keywords: colorectal cancer, apatinib, kinase insert domain containing receptor, genetic variation, biomarker, clinical outcome, safety